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new terrarium project

  • #21
I would think one on the side, sorta low... and one on the top at the far end... that way you get cross ventialtion via convection or small fan

That's exactly the advice I got from one of the terrarium gods on the aquaria forum I frequent. I'm going to have to go with that I think. Thanks again, Av!
 
  • #22
Well, I got it pretty much set up. Top is cut and drilled for exhaust. Drilled holes in the right side about half way down and installed the fan (with masking tape for now, once I get the final position worked out, I'll hit it with a dab of silicone). The pump/drain system is working as planned. The humidity varies based on the distance of the fan from the holes in the glass, but it's holding pretty steadily above 90%. As long as it holds that way for 24 hrs or so, I'll get the whole thing cleaned up and finalized and put the plants in.

Thanks for all the guidance and support!

A couple pics just for the sake of being thorough.

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  • #23
And... the final product!

I've got an air pump in the reservoir to keep the water oxygenated. The whole thing is holding steadily at 95% humidity. The next step will be getting a good light for it, but that will have to wait until I get some money.

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  • #25
Thanks, Paul!
 
  • #26
Very clean design.... sweet looking

How are the temps and how are the temps if the fan/power supply was to fail?
 
  • #27
Thanks, Butch! That means a lot, dude.
 
  • #28
1. The drain hoses have to be above the water line in the reservoir in order to start flowing properly.

2. This was a little counter-intuitive to me, but the humidity actually goes down while the terrarium is flooded. I can only think that it might be due to less surface area vs. all the little clay pellets.

Neither is a huge deal, but seemed worthy of note.
 
  • #30
And the pic of the minor:

6385401371_372977484d_b.jpg


---------- Post added at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:42 PM ----------

Very clean design.... sweet looking

How are the temps and how are the temps if the fan/power supply was to fail?

Sorry... I missed the question part of this until now. The temps are 72-73 during the day. Down to mid 50's at night.

If the fans fail, the temp gets up to about 78.
 
  • #31
Took a few new pics today. Everything still seems very happy. Even the little tequilla division I got hasn't deteriorated at all. It's an unrooted division, seems like if it's happy, they all should be.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68317550@N06/6432271811/" title="DSCF1636 by jdbradt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6095/6432271811_a2575dbb27.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSCF1636"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68317550@N06/6432273993/" title="DSCF1637 by jdbradt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6432273993_f3edbd9641.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSCF1637"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68317550@N06/6432278565/" title="DSCF1638 by jdbradt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6432278565_a2f72a0edf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSCF1638"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68317550@N06/6432276069/" title="DSCF1639 by jdbradt, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6432276069_3fa59a9342.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSCF1639"></a>
 
  • #32
Jb,

Nicely done.... so how is the flood and siphon drain watering system working out for you?

I'm loving mine, can't imagine going back to manual waterings anymore :)

Butch
 
  • #33
It's really working out better than I thought it would. It makes it so much more convenient. The only time I need to open the top up is if I want to top water the pots or to put some fertilizer in the pitchers of the unrooted divisions. There's a lot more red coming out in the plants too, which I think is due to the close proximity of the plants to the lights. I can't wait to see how they do in the spring/summer when the photo period goes back to 18 hours.
 
  • #34
Hey all, sorry I haven't been around much. It's been a hectic winter. I thought it was about time I put up an update.

The only real problem I've encountered was with the large h. heterodoxa x minor. I've come to believe that it was due to two things. 1. the humidity was too high consistently. Since then I've readjusted the fans so that at night it climbs to 99%, while during the day it slowly dips down into the mid to upper 70% range. 2. the potting mix that it was planted in was relatively peat heavy, which worked well when I was manually watering a couple time per week, but not ideal for watering every day as happens now. I repotted it in a mix of lfs/aps/shredded cypress bark. This seems to stay moist enough to serve yet still airy enough for lots of gas exchange. When I repotted, the roots still looked to be in good shape, so I'm hopeful that I caught it before any real damage was done. It's still showing signs of new growth, so we'll see:

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The two divisions I have left from the fall are also doing really well. They are in a mix similar to what the large one was in, but was a bit less peat-centric. I'm planning on repotting them as well.

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The minor is showing good new growth and color:

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Same with the nutans. I'm a llittle disappointed to have seen no mature pitchers yet, but it's putting out a ton of juvies and the color looks great.

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The tequilla division is still putting out it's first pitcher. It seems to have good color. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it opens.

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Any comments/questions/observations alway appreciated. And thanks again to everyone who's offered advice and suppport!
 
  • #35
Everything looks great! Your nutans are pretty crazy for not wanting to hang out with the mature crowd.:D
 
  • #36
Very nice Helis, I like them all! :)
 
  • #37
Thanks guys!
 
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